Red Sparrow different than expected

The Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is a strange movie with many varying sequences of events. The opening scene is a ballet. Jennifer Lawrence stands on-stage in pointe shoes and a red dress, pirouetting and leaping across the stage, only to be pushed to a career-ending injury. This is only the beginning of many sequences of unfortunate events. Nonetheless, the characters draw you in, despite the actors’ Russian accents that were lacking in true authenticity.

This movie was quite mainstreamed. It was advertised during the Super Bowl, as well as in commercials on NBC and ABC networks. It appears exciting—a true thriller. Because of how often the movie was advertised, you would not expect the movie to be so incredibly cruel and graphic. Even though it was rated R, the people that I went with were not anticipating such a spectacle.

The movie included graphic blood, as well as female nudity, graphic sex, and a full male frontal. Personally, I was not expecting so much, especially from a movie so widely advertised.

In addition, the main character was sent to a school where she was trained to seduce men to gain information, which, in and of itself, seems a bit sexist. It appears to suggest that women can only be helpful if they are able to prey on men’s sexual weaknesses. In addition, there were graphic scenes of physical torture for information, as well as heavy pools of blood.

Nevertheless, the movie was exciting. It kept you on the edge of your seat, leaving you to never know what was going to happen next. It ended with a grand finale that you would never have expected. In addition, Jennifer Lawrence, although lacking in a true Russian accent, played a strong female character who showed little fear. She established her power over many of the male characters throughout the entirety of the movie. However, I do not agree with oversexualizing female characters in many movies, and this movie proved to be no different.

Joel Edgerton played an American CIA agent, and he and Lawrence certainly had chemistry. The overall acting in the movie was believable, and led to excitement and tension throughout the movie. If you want a suspenseful movie, I certainly recommend it, but I want to warn you that the movie was graphic, sexist at times, and sexually perverse. If you can stomach that though, it’s definitely the movie for you.